BOWEN HOUSE is littered with flowers and leaves at the moment as part of an exhibition by design students of works created in response to climate change.

Through graphic design and art, the third-year Whitireia Polytech design and photography students have produced their take on one of the most serious problems confronting the world.

Design tutor Brenda Saris says the students were directed to look at the triple bottom line policy where economic, environmental and social considerations are balanced when doing business.

“This replaces the conventional business model where profit is the main objective.

STRANGE BLOOMS: Native flowers and litter

“We wanted to contribute to the conversation. We wanted the students to show what concerns them.”

Linwei Zhao, 24, created four magazine-style covers titled Be Veggie, saying “huge areas of rainforest are being destroyed, [it is] very bad for human sustainability”.

“In the past 40 years, 40 per cent of the rainforest has been destroyed for factory cattle farming. We need to focus on the issue because we need to protect our resources.

“We need to feed animals, and they need more water than to grow vegetables.”

Laura Campbell, 21, has always been interested in the effects of litter on the environment.

Laura’s drawings are of new flowers, which are based on native flowers, but incorporate pieces of litter. She has renamed with a spin on their proper Latin names.

“If you throw away litter, it’s not a temporary thing. It can have a real effect on the environment.

“I think it is important to make people more aware of a wide range of environmental issues.”

Danielle Collis, 20, created simple yet effective posters designed to be ads.

“I didn’t want to be all in-your-face ‘do this, do that’, I wanted to be a little sarcastic and funny. The funny ads are the ones I remember.”

Thomas Slade created a piece, below, by photographing one month’s worth of his own rubbish, working out how much an average man would create in his lifetime and then manipulating the images to resemble his portrait.

Photographer Dean Zillwood discovered that the manufacturing process of cotton is not sustainable and found alternative solutions to clothing textiles.

IN MY FACE: Sustainability art

The exhibition, at Bowen House on Lambton Quay, runs until September 27th, open Wednesday until Friday 10am to 3pm.